An SUV sits crumpled in Raleigh, N.C., on Jan. 11, 2014, after severe weather swept across the area. Jan. 11 has been the only day with significant severe weather so far this year. / Jill Knight, AP

by Doyle Rice, USA TODAY

by Doyle Rice, USA TODAY

The first major severe weather outbreak of the season is forecast to wallop portions of the central and eastern USA Thursday and Friday. While the biggest threats will be powerful wind gusts, flash flooding and large hail, a few tornadoes are also possible, AccuWeather predicts.

More than 60 million people live in the risk areas, said AccuWeather meteorologist Alex Sosnowski.

The Storm Prediction Center has placed parts of the mid-South under a "moderate" risk for severe storms Thursday. Severe storms could rattle cities such as Memphis, Nashville and Louisville on Thursday.

"The greatest risk for a handful of tornadoes will be where the air is the warmest and most humid, which is most likely from western Tennessee to northwestern Mississippi on Thursday," according to AccuWeather meteorologist Henry Margusity.

On Friday, the potential for strong to severe storms will reach from northern Florida to Pennsylvania, New Jersey and southern New York state.

So far this year, according to preliminary data, there have been only three reports of tornadoes across the USA, said Greg Carbin, warning coordination meteorologist with the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla. This is the lowest number in 60 years of official weather records.

In a typical year, the U.S. sees about 64 tornadoes in the first two months of the year, based on data from 1991-2010 from the National Climatic Data Center.

While few people seem to be enjoying the bitterly cold weather this winter, it's been the main cause of the quiet tornado season: "Unusually cold weather across the continental U.S. is a contributing factor to keeping tornado activity limited during the winter months," said Carbin.

Speaking of winter, the same storm that produces the severe threat will have a narrow, but likely potent winter side Thursday, according to Weather Channel meteorologist Kevin Roth. Heavy, wind-driven snow is forecast from north Kansas to northwest Michigan, he said.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the National Weather Service had posted blizzard warnings for much of northern Iowa and southern Minnesota for Thursday, where up to 3-6 inches of snow are possible, along with howling wind gusts of up to 40 mph.

Winter storm warnings were also in place for much of Wisconsin and northern Michigan.